PS 3545 
.13 03 
1907 
Copy 1 



Ljde to 



ODE TO NIAGARA 



William Chambers Wilbor, D.D., Ph.D, 



BUFFALO, N. Y. 

E. Brinkworth 

331 Main Street 
1907 



fwo Ot'pies rtuc*!Vii!i 

D£C 20 i90? ' 



.I-5O3 



COPYRIGHT 1907 



^ ODE TO NIAGARA. 

iT^ By William Chambers Wilbor, D.D., Ph.D. 



"PROM far-famed lofty Table Rock, in wide- 
Extending vision, I behold, entranced. 
The magnitude and symmetry of thy 
Proportions. In one grand panoramic 
Picture thott stretchest out before me — thy 
Spacious overflowing gulf, thy distant 
Falling flood, an avalanche of silver 
Sheen, thy wooded islands' intervening 
Grags, and, near at hand, thy massive bending 
Horseshoe: while far above the ascending 
Rapids thy broad expanse of azure waves 
Blends with the skies which frame the inspiring scene. 



Long ages past, when the primeval woods 
Sheltered thy banks and fierce barbaric tribes 
Threaded the forest trails to look on thee 
And listen to thy voice, they felt in their 
Untutored hearts the presence here of the 
Great Spirit brooding o'er thy heights sublime 
And foaming depths profound. 



Fit temple art 
Thou for the living God. Nature perpetual 
Sabbath keeps within thy precincts, and man's 
Soul, awed by the thunder of thy deep tones, 
Hushes the discords of a world of strife 
And, low before the universe's King, 
In spirit worships and with Him communes* 



Cool breezes blow thy mists between thee and 
Mine eyes, yet, by thy roar, I stirely know 
Thotf rollest on in that uneven cotsrse through 
Which thy way hast led long eons while the 
Feet of those who on thee gaze forever 
Vanish from thy side. Vapors are transient* 
Soon the s«n*s warm rays suspend before thy 
Face serene a double rainbow. Lo, the 
Zephyrs die, all clouds disperse, and thy clear 
Sapphire-emerald blending hues gleam fresh and 
Bright in the transparent air. 



upon the 
Calm, still bosom of thy stream the gliding, 
Flashing waters flow, with ever-quickening 
Pace, to make the awful pitjnge of thy vast 
Cataract; then, placid for a while, press 
On impetuous downward through thy gorge, 'twixt 
Palisades of high-built walls of rock, like 
Herds of wild unbridled steeds rearing and 
Rushing on through eddying whirlpool's mad 
Uproarious waves, till they find rest at 
Length in the smooth deeps of plains beyond, 
And fall asleep in blue Ontario. 



Poised in the path of thy swift-flowing surge 
Enchanting isles divide thy fleet cascades 
And hang suspended on the dizzy edge 
Of towering precipice and beetling cliff. 
Secluded dells, 'neath grateful shade of trees 
With many a winding way *mid fairy 
Bowerst are decked with feathery foliage 
Of silver birch and spruce. Festooning vines 
Of the wild grape there diadem thy brows 
With verdant chaplets twined with sylvan grace* 



Within this paradise restored the mind 
May think upon thy gentler, softer lines 
Ast far below, tipon thy splendor and 
Sublimity, it views the no less skillful 
Handiwork of God, and lauds His boundless 
"Wisdom and love of all things beautifuL 



Within thy drenched and gloomy Cave of Winds 
I hear, appalled, the loud and dreadftti crash 
And uproar of thy frightful leap, and learn 
Anew thy measureless and matchless power. 
Like liquid veil thy crystal deluge falls, 
"With headlong speed and far-resounding rage. 
Dashing its weight of water on shattered 
Trembling ledge of stone, escapes in glistening 
Effervescent surf, and whirls along to 
Join the fleeing billows which haste away 
From the dread home of chaos and dispute. 



The Rock of Ages rising at thy feet, 
Where strike most fariottsly thy ponderous blows. 
Bears all the swellings of thy tempest great 
Unmoved* It braves the overwhelming shock 
And stands for aye the symbol of that Rock 
Which holds the Christian faith secure and strong 
'Mid ceaseless conflicts in a realm of doubt. 



Thoti hast for me a weird, unearthly charm 
At midnightt when thy melody has lulled 
To rest the multitudes who throng thy side 
By day» Then the faint gleam of twinkling stars 
And crescent moon their dim rays shed upon 
Thy curved crest, and weave a halo soft. 
Unknown to glaring light, which crowns thee with 
A mystic glory and a shadowy glow* 



There in the solitttde and on the brink 
Of thy unseen abyss, with darkness filled. 
The sottnd of many waters and the ghostly 
Sheet of foam about thee, are speech and forms 
Of other worlds to me* Amazed, and with 
'Bated breath, I seem to stand, «pon the 
Verge of time, alone with thy Creator, 



Thy strange caprice in winter I behold 
With admiration and surprise as, of 
Thy clottdlike spray frozen to Parian 
Marble, thoti carvest images grotesque, 
And, drooping from laden branch of tree and 
Shrub, thou hangest wreaths of ivory and 
Coral white, and drap'st with purity all 
That yield to the influence of thy magic spelL 
While, at the foot of thy great waterfall. 
There grows from day to day, an icy mount 
Almost to level of thine altitude* 
While, far beneath thy jagged bridge of ice. 
Which spans thy hidden bed; thou hurriest on 
Resisting all constraint of frost and snow. 



Eternity is symboled in thy strong. 

Full, ceaseless life through an unmeasured flight 

Of years. A hand omnipotentt from earth's 

Reservoirs exhatistless, pottrs within the 

Brimming shores of thy swift, unresting waves 

Floods ever full yet ever new supplied. 

Thou teachest all who come to learn of thee 

The endless length and breadth and depth and height 

Of beauty, grandeur, and of power divine. 



Thotf r«nncst on tinclianged by aught that e'er 

Transpires among the races of the earths 

Kj[ngs rise to power and pass away. Armies 

Are mustered in, and nations' destinies 

Are sealed upon the battlefields where they 

Forever disappear. Generations 

Come and go unheeded and unmarked by 

Thee, as, ever moving on, defiant of 

The lapse of time, thy rugged stream flows through 

The long unnumbered centuries the same. 



t>FC 



20 im 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

015 873 979 3 




